Some photos from a recent 7,500-kilometre road trip from Calgary down through Nevada and California and back by a circuitous route through Washington and southern B.C.
A passing storm near Logan, Utah
A slightly used mattress for my Walmart campout
Josh Clark is putting high-end ingredients into most affordable sandwiches at The Goodwich, in Las Vegas
You may think you’ve eaten a great BLT or two in your time. But you obviously haven’t met Josh Clark, co-owner of *The Goodwich. From an 8-by-12-foot cart in colourful downtown Las Vegas (i.e. not The Strip), he dispenses a BLT&G (the “g” is for cheddar grits) that’s the best bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich I’ve ever sunk my teeth into.
The primary reason is Josh’s obsession with his bacon. It starts with a slab of pork belly that’s brined and slow-roasted/smoked and then sliced and crisped at the last minute on the blacktop. Oh, and all the drippings from the bacon makin’ are added to the sandwich for an extra hit of bliss. The remaining ingredients are equally well thought out, including fresh, flavour-filled tomatoes and grilled bread from local Bon Breads.
You won’t find a better BLT than this one and certainly not for $7
A relaxed, friendly guy who greets his customers at the front of his cart, Josh has years of experience as a chef in some high-end Vegas restaurants. The premise behind the new sandwich shop (with co-owner Jake Leslie) is this: You should be able to take everything in, say, a high-falutin, high-priced meal, slap it between two pieces of bread and charge the change in a customer’s pocket. What a concept!
Thus you can get a “simple” heirloom tomato, aioli and smoked salt sammy for a ridiculous $3 and work all the way up to $9 for a pork butt and belly combo. Even a lowly egg salad ($5) is transformed into something fabulous by the addition of pickled onion, chorizo and chip bits. It’s all about ingenuity, exacting standards over the smallest details and execution.
“The idea,” says Josh, “is to exceed expectations.” Mission accomplished.
The colourful Las Vegas downtown area is home to Goodwich and Viva Las Arepas
Note: Goodwich is in space owned by Viva Las Arepas, a block away and one of my top overall road-trip food picks of 2013. Owner Felix Arellano is hoping to soon expand that fabulous eatery to another Las Vegas location or two.
The Goodwich
1516 South Las Vegas Boulevard, Suite A, Las Vegas
Tuesday to Sunday 11 am-10 pm, except 4 pm closing Sunday. Closed Monday
Storm Coffee is set up in a beautifully restored Airstream trailer in Richland, Washington
This is a story that begins in Jasper, Alberta and ends a month and thousands of kilometres away in Richland, Washington. Ostensibly, the quest is a failure, but as is often the case, the accidental result is equally rewarding, if not more so, than if everything went according to plan.
The Jasper beginning is in laundromat/café SnowDome, which pulls a wicked espresso from a custom Slayer machine with walnut paddles, built in Seattle. Intrigued, I check the Slayer website, which features one of its machines in a beautifully restored 1964 Airstream trailer in Richland, part of the Tri-Cities area of southeast Washington.
I’m planning a long road trip that will pass through the area, so I pencil in a must-see visit to Strom Coffee. I’m also impressed by owner Kelly Nelson’s attention to detail, witness the house-made coffee syrups, organic dairy products from grass-fed cows, availability of cashew milk and refusal to drown their meticulous shots in milk or sugar. But when I arrive expectantly on the trailer doorstep, a sign announces they’re closed for the day (a reminder to check Twitter feeds more often). Say it ain’t so!
So I wander over to a nearby food truck, *The Street Grill, whose owner, Rebecca says of Strom, “He’s never closed.” And yet, he is.
The Street Grill makes great artisan burgers in Richland, Washington
With nothing better to do, I order one of her artisan burgers—hand fashioned from a Windy River Meat blend of brisket, short rib and chuck, with a little butter added to the mix, southern style, to add some flavour to the lean cuts. Perfectly grilled, with crispy onions aboard and stacked inside an excellent, custom bun that holds its shape, it reminds me of the lightly adorned burgers we used to make at home, only better.
Everything’s better with a little butter, including this fresh-ground burger at The Street Grill
Almost as an afterthought, Rebecca asks if I’d like to try a sample of one of her almost tart-sized, thin pies. This is a blueberry-raspberry version, with a reduction sauce from a local winery’s Syrah port.
I rarely eat pie, but this looks so good, I try a bite. And then another. And another. Oh, my God, is this good! I drag over a new-found food friend, who wolfs down an entire mini pie in perhaps a minute. We agree, it’s probably the best pie we’ve had in maybe, FOREVER.
Cast your eyes on this blueberry-raspberry, port-reduction pie and then jump in your car. It’s that life-altering good
Rebecca then interrupts the reverie with the news that this might be a pie that’s only available to the winery, Barnard Griffin, and its patrons. Someone’s got to stop her.
The Street Grill
300 Knight Street (John Dam Plaza), Richland, Washington
Monday to Saturday 11 am-5 pm. Closed Sunday
Strom Coffee
300 Knight Street (John Dam Plaza), Richland, Washington
Monday to Thursday 6:30 am-3:30 pm, Friday 6:30 am-2 pm. Closed Sunday
The cinnamon buns at Pearl’s Cafe come with a twist: a caramel, bacon topping
I make a beeline for Pearls Café, in Waterton, for one reason. They use beans from my favourite roaster, Cupper’s Coffee & Tea, in nearby Lethbridge. Indeed, my double-shot Americano has that distinctive, smoky Cupper’s flavour that I so admire, though of course it could be a wee bit stronger.
A fine Americano, featuring beans from Lethbridge’s Cuppers Coffee & Tea
But the coffee is just what gets me in the door. As I’m sipping my java, I watch a tray of cinnamon buns emerge from the oven. It includes a species I’m unfamiliar with, one decked out in caramel and bacon.
The culinary temptations don’t end here. The French toast choices include caramelized apples stuffed inside Texas toast. It’s called Apple Pie, thus rolling breakfast and dessert onto one sinful plate. At lunch, there’s a panini combining, get this, short ribs and sloppy Joe’s.
I swear, all I wanted was coffee.
Pearls Café
305 Windflower Avenue, Waterton, Alberta
Daily 7 am-9 pm
Brothers Jon and Max Low parading the fresh dogs at their Wieners of Waterton
The name pretty much says it all: Wieners of Waterton. Brothers Jon and Max Low (I love all those three-letter names) have kept things dead simple—four kinds of dogs, a couple of fries and a few breakfast items. That’s it.
Of course, if you’re only going to do one thing, best do it well. And the Low boys have it nailed, judging by the early-season lunch line at this shoehorn joint, with counter service and just eight window-side stools. I figure the presence of a few Waterton Lakes National Park workers in the line is a good sign of WOW’s street creds.
I could go for a quarter-pound Nathan’s dog for $6, large soft drink included. But when I see a locally made smokie, for a couple of bucks more, is there really any choice? The juicy smokie has a nice, crisp skin, with some flavourful seasonings bursting through on that first bite. But what brings everything together is the little details—the house-baked, lightly toasted bun and toppings that include Wiener’s own sweet tomato sauce, pickled onions and carrots and, if you want a little more crunch, some potato chips.
There’s a locally made smoke buried under all these fixings
Wieners of Waterton
301 Windflower Avenue, Waterton, Alberta
Daily 7 am-9 pm
There’s a real general store here in Twin Butte, along with a fine Mexican restaurant
I’m deep in the heart of southern Alberta ranching country, sitting in a character, low-ceiling diner and listening to a country soundtrack. So of course, at Twin Butte Country General Store, l’m dining on… steak? Burgers? Um, actually, Mexican cuisine.
There’s a story here, about how a transplanted southern Californian, Larry Davis, renovated this historic general store, started cooking primarily Mexican food and then turned things over to his daughter, Jeny Akitt, who carries on the tradition, along with hosting good live music from touring musicians. Just trust me, it works.
The lunch/dinner menu includes enchiladas, chimichangas, burritos and tacos. But I’m here at breakfast, deciding on a Mexican scrambler but abandoning my initial choice of a “senorita” size for the more manly full size, with a side of grilled tortillas. This combination of scrambled eggs, melted cheese and chorizo sausage over nice home potatoes arrives in a little, scalding cast-iron skillet, ensuring everything stays hot for the duration of inhaling. Why don’t more breakfast places do this?
A Mexican scrambler served piping hot in a cast-iron frying pan
Twin Butte is along a gorgeous stretch of Highway 6 that winds through lightly treed foothills and front-range mountains south of Pincher Creek. Most folks follow it hell bent for Waterton Lakes National Park. But it’s worth pausing, however briefly, at this little slice of Mexico.
Twin Butte Country General Store
Highway 6, Twin Butte, Alberta
Daily 10 am-10 pm, closed Tuesdays in winter
Marathon Mouth 